An Interview with Nick & Amy from ‘What the Pho’ Travel Podcast

So we have recently been trying out different travel podcasts, reading stories is great but what if you can hear them from the horse’s mouth!? We had listened to a few and to be quite frank, were ridiculously boring, with no sense of order and taking life all a little too seriously. We were on the verge giving in and sticking with conventional reading until we stumbled upon this little gem, within 10 minutes we were hooked! ‘What the Pho’ brings you some great travel tips, advice and the occasional guest to share their travels stories with lots of giggles in between… what’s not to love.

Presented by fellow Brits Nick and Amy ‘What the Pho’ travel podcast is a breath of fresh air! with its light-hearted, witty and also educational theme with some serious entertainment thrown in for good measure. Here we caught up with the duo to find out their latest travel plans, how to get a foot on the podcasting ladder and a little inside scoop on the people behind the mic!..

Welcome Nick & Amy. For those who don’t know who you are, please could you tell us a little about yourselves and what you do?

Of course! We are Nick, (26) and Amy (Very nearly 25). We are an engaged couple from Essex (reem) who just bloody love to travel! In terms of our day jobs, Nick is a Sales Manager within the oil and gas/renewables industry and has just started his own side business in this field also! Amy works in radio, doing multiple jobs for BBC, Heart and Kiss, and is working towards being a presenter.

So you both founded your ‘What the Pho’ Podcast (great name by the way). How did this all come about and any tips/advice for those wanting to start their own?

I’m going to take charge of this question (It’s Amy – the boss haha). The podcast actually came about because I wanted to start my own podcast to help my presenting career. I vividly remember brainstorming through ideas while on holiday with Nick in Marbella, Spain roughly two months before we started the podcast. I was thinking of a travel podcast, and having a different guest on each month so I wasn’t talking to myself. Like most things, Nick wasn’t forth coming, so I had to plant the idea in his head to come on the show with me, but miraculously make it seem like his idea… and it worked! He’s now a full-time host! The other big reason pushing this forward was that we couldn’t find a relatable travel podcast for people who want to joke, not take life seriously, maybe swear once or twice and play rude games while being inspired and educated. Our best tip to starting your own podcast would be to know how you’re going to be different, what do you want to say that isn’t already being said? And get good at editing – you wouldn’t believe how much crap I take out that Nick says Haha!

Our favourite has to be episode 4 ‘Namaste’, what has been your favourite to record so far and why?

That’s great but it surprises us! Namaste was the episode which we were most excited to record because it was with our friend James who we travelled India and Nepal with, but he couldn’t make it at the last-minute so we felt quite underprepared.

Nick – I think I enjoyed ‘BudaBest’ episode 3 the most. At the time of recording we had recently got back from Budapest, so the memories were fresh, which made talking about it so much easier. I was also getting a bit confident (cocky) by episode 3. We met a lot of cool people in Budapest, who you can hear on the show because this was my first chance to pretend to be a journalist and interview them ☺.

Amy – I would say my favourite has been ‘Koh Blimey teaching English in Thailand’ – episode 5. Maybe for the same reasons as Nick, I had a certain boost of confidence with the podcast. Podcasts are so fun, having banter with your mates and just recording it. I loved playing the role of Ann Robinson for the Weakest Link game – travel style. And I have to mention the fact that I got to speak Thai and get a quote in there from my favourite film ‘Bridesmaids’ at the same time. Kab Kun Ka.

Between the two of you, you’ve been to some awesome places. What is the main inspiration behind your travels?

Wanderlust. It sounds fancy, but we’re telling ya, it’s painful! It’s a disease but granted, a pretty good one! It’s just an absolute desire to complete the world, always be in a place we don’t know much about. Nick just loves adventure whether it’s trekking through the Himalayas or trying to find your hostel in Krakow when it’s dark, snowing, freezing and no one speaks your language. And let’s face it, we can also be that one person everyone hates in a conversation that says “Canada… Oh! I’ve been there!” We don’t want to get all deep on you now but also you need to think that whether we like it or not, there’s going to be bad times ahead in life with funerals and such, so why not fill your life with the things you love doing? Even if that’s not travel, maybe you love train spotting… then go be the best god damn train-spotter you can be!

Carrying on from question 4, Of all the countries you’ve visited which one stands out for you and why?

This is the easiest question! INDIA! Done. Next question…haha!

But no seriously, India is a magical place. We ate curry three times a day, met the most beautiful people and we really felt the spirituality of the country. It is a land of extremes, so be prepared for all emotions. The main thing that struck with us was how much of our own British culture was integrated into everything, from architecture to language, we could always see our own traditions back home which made us feel very welcome, despite the controversial history. If you go, make sure to check out the super old photographs around the hotels of the English gentlemen and old school Indian royalty – the photos are incredible!

Of all the things you’ve learned on the road, Is there any tips you could give our followers that are starting out on their travels, anything you wish you had known before you set off?

We remember on our first big trip to Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka) we pestered our friends who had been for tips and tricks in which we got “keep your money safe in a bum-bag” which is a given! But we would say

Before you land in a country, have the local currency ‘bang on’ in your head… the amount of times we’ve got to a taxi and not known if we’ve given them £1 or £1 million.

Get some entertainment!! (There’s a really good travel podcast you can listen to ;)) Again, we’ve been so bored on the long train/bus journeys with only each other to talk to.

Are you being offered something that sounds too good to be true?… yeah it is! So walk on. We took a 37p Tuk Tuk tour around Bangkok, and we thought WOW! But he just took us to his mate’s shops where they used aggressive sales tactics. We are laughing at how dumb we were as we write this!

2016 has just began, Do you have any travelling plans yet? And where do you see your podcast going this year?

Of course we do! So 2016 is a big year for us as we’re getting married! As well as a few of our friends so we are doing lots of Stag and Hen holidays. So far we are going to;

Slovakia – Skiing

Berlin – Friends Stag

Budapest – Friends Hen

France – Nick’s stag

??? – Amy’s mystery hen

Southern India and the Maldives – Honeymoon

We also want to do a few short trips around Europe and we’re planning a massive trip to South America for 2017! With the podcast, we hope to build our listener figures of course. You can expect to hear shows on New Zealand, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Australia and Mexico with some really exciting guests like the wonderful FlashPacking Duo!

A huge thanks to Nick and Amy for taking their time out to bring some great reading, you can find ‘What The Pho’ travel podcast here and check out their Twitter and Facebook! We have had some fantastic response from fellow travellers on our catch up with… section from Karl Watson and his tips on videography and James Ketchell and his inspirational story! If you want to get involved get in touch, we would love to hear from you too.

Thanks for reading! We highly recommend having listen, even more great tips and stories from these guys so go check it out!

Who are Flashpacking Duo?

Hello, and welcome to Flashpacking Duo Adventure Travel Blog! We are Dom & Claire—partners in life and travel. Follow us on our travels, where we will be bringing you, our reader's tales of adventures from around the world. Want to find out more about us? Check it out here!